A Big Love
by acmstory
Summary: When circumstances lead Emily back to America, an unexpected love grows in her life.
1. Chapter 1

Warning: WIP. I currently have 16,000 words of this written. Not beta read. Contains consenting adults engaging in polygamy, adults talking about family planning and pregnancy, and discussion of religion.

It begins with a mistake. Too much alcohol, too much stress, too much being alone since Emily left the BAU. It's the kind of mistake that Emily thinks she can put behind, let go so long as Gabriel stops giving her too-intimate glances at work, as though somehow their relationship has changed because of a brief lapse in judgment on both of their parts.

Except life, at least hers, is rarely that simple. The seed of doubt is planted in her mind when the aversion to intense smells begins, when Emily finds herself no longer able to tolerate her morning coffee. The doubt increases when she finds herself suffering from a stomach bug that just wont let up, nausea with no apparent fever. The final blow comes when she tries to think, weeks after the symptoms begin, of when her last period was.

Emily tries to reason with herself when she buys a handful of pregnancy tests on the way home from work that evening, stashing them into her purse like the evidence of a crime. At thirty eight and living a high-stress lifestyle, this wouldn't be the first time her periods were somewhat irregular. But the doubt lingers, tells her that there's more to the story, that she must take the test.

She does. The directions say it's best to wait until first thing in the morning, but it's been hours since she's last gone to the bathroom, and she can't possibly wait any longer. Weaker concentration of hCG or not, the fates promptly reveal some of their cards for her, two clear lines. Pregnant.

Emily thinks of the child that could have been hers, so long ago. She'd have been sixteen when he or she would have been born. They'd be all grown up now, off on their own, living some life she cannot imagine. She'd be living some life she cannot imagine. Emily thinks that it's cruel she find herself in this position now, when she'd stopped believing that it could ever happen, when she'd given up a tiny corner of her mind that had always wanted.

She doesn't regret the choice she made, twenty two years ago. All of the good things that had come in her life would likely have never come to be in her life had she made a different choice. She had been so young then, so stupid.

Yet she finds herself staring at the same results all these years later, and the doubt in her mind grows. When she'd told Gabriel about the symptoms, about the pregnancy tests, he'd pulled her into a quiet corner of the hallway and told her that in no uncertain terms that he was never going to be a father, that he wanted nothing to do with any baby. If she was pregnant it was best for them both if she got rid of it.

She tells herself not to think of that, to continue to function, at least until she can see her doctor and find out for certain.


	2. Chapter 2

Two days later, the doctor's appointment rolls around. It's the first time she's been to the doctor that wasn't either for a trauma or for a work-required evaluation in years. Emily wonders if that will count against her on the long list of reasons why she should not have a baby, if she's even pregnant.

The ultrasound quickly puts any theories that she's not pregnant to rest. Dr. Deniel smiles broadly at her, gesturing at the screen. He confirms that she looks about as far along as they'd expected based on her last period, eight weeks three days, and that everything looks perfectly fine right now. On the screen, the tiniest of heartbeats flickers along, healthy and strong.

He leaves her to clean up and get dressed, printing out a picture of the ultrasound for her to keep, a tiny little bean that doesn't look anything like a baby yet on it. Emily thinks she's going to cry as she stares at it.

A minute later he's there again with his great big sympathetic eyes. She thinks she's too old for people to be treating the news of her pregnancy with sympathy, but she supposes he's only doing so because he can clearly see this is conflicting news for her. He sits down on a stool, patting a chair near his desk. "You did not expect this?"

Emily laughs nervously as she sits down. "No. I didn't even think I could get pregnant any longer."

He nods. "Well, pregnancy at your age is a little bit riskier than a younger woman. But you are healthy and the fact that you've made it this far in the pregnancy is a positive sign. I see no reason yet to tell you that you should expect anything but a healthy pregnancy, although we will watch you more closely," he answers, speaking to her unasked questions. "you should expect that if you want this, you will have a baby."

Emily shrugs. "I don't know. I'd given up on the idea of having a child."

"And the father?" he asks, glancing at her chart briefly. "Is he in the picture?"

She shakes her head. "He's made it quite clear that he's uninterested in any child that results from this pregnancy, and I wont be trying to change his mind."

"And you? What do you want?" he asks.

Emily sighs, a desperate little sound. "I've felt this . . . hope, ever since you showed me that little heart beat. This could be my child, if I want it. This isn't how I wanted it to happen, but I don't, I can't . . . I wont go through life wondering what could have been again."

"Well, your options are open for another five weeks. But I think you've already made your decision, Emily, and so we should start moving in the direction of planning care for your pregnancy if my assumptions are correct."

Emily nods. "I'm not so sure I'll be staying here much longer. Can I call to schedule a follow-up if I do?"

Dr. Deniel stands then, sorting through a cabinet for a sample bottle of prenatal vitamins, as well as a handful of pamphlets about a healthy pregnancy and when to contact your doctor. "Of course. Start the vitamins today no matter what, and call our office at any time if you have concerns."

After thanking the doctor, Emily leaves, feeling like a weight has been lifted off her chest. She might not know where she's going to have this baby, or how she can possibly care for it on her own, but she does know that one day not so far into the future it will be born. Thinking that it's no longer just her pregnancy, but her baby, puts all the other decisions into a different perspective.


	3. Chapter 3

Emily hadn't told JJ about the mistake, the seeds of doubt, the pregnancy test, or the doctor's appointment. It had seemed too uncertain then. Now she faces their twice-weekly skype chats with nervous butterflies in her stomach. She knows that JJ will be happy for her and support her, but Emily thinks that part of her is still the 15 year old girl with a secret.

JJ is her usual enthusiastic self as she briefly fills Emily in on the BAU and Will and Henry, before asking Emily what she's been up to. Emily takes a breath, balls her hands into fists. "There's something I have to tell you. I was avoiding telling you because I wasn't entirely sure yet. I'm pregnant."

JJ looks caught between extreme excitement and cautious concern. "How do you feel about that? Tell me everything!"

Emily tries to assemble the story in order. "I had a one night stand with a co-worker. He wants nothing to do with the baby and I'm okay with that. I wont hold this over his head. I'm eight weeks, four days along now so I still have time for an abortion if that's what I wanted to do. But Jayje, seeing that little heartbeat," Emily says, her face almost in a grimace. "It broke something in me. I couldn't be a mother then, but I can now. This is probably my last chance. I want it."

"No matter the circumstances, you know that we're here for you, Emily," JJ replies. "I'm happy for you. You're going to be a mother! I get to spoil another baby!"

"Yeah. A baby," Emily says with a smile, glad to finally have it out there. "I don't know what to do, JJ. I don't think I want to raise a baby out here on my own. My heart is telling me to leave, but is that just my homesickness talking?"

JJ shakes her head. "There's nothing wrong with not wanting to be alone, Em. If you want to come back you know that you'll always have a place with us."

Emily nods. "I appreciate that. I have some thinking I need to do."

JJ smiles. "You'll make the right decision. Take care of yourself, Em," she says. "I'll talk to you in a few days."

After they hang up, Emily sets about her thinking. In the end it comes down to one thing; alone with no support system is no way to raise a child. Emily thinks that she misses them now, more desperately than she's missed anyone or anything in her life, Declan excluded.

She thinks of the pain in her chest where her memories of Declan reside, the knowledge that she will never see him again comfortably weighed against the reality that her knowledge can never again be used against her. He was simply never meant to be hers, and the knowledge that he is happy and healthy without her allows her to embrace this reality, to let him go.

This child feels different. This child feels like hers, as though she can truly envision a life together, and it isn't just an empty fantasy. She can make it happen.

She just has to figure out how.


	4. Chapter 4

In the end there's really no debate. That Monday she lets her boss know she'll be leaving soon, breaks the news of the move to an excited JJ with Will and Henry in the background. Eventually she starts to work through packing up the parts of her apartment she wont just sell, buying herself out of the lease, and breaking the news to everyone else.

They all seem so happy for her, like she'd done nothing wrong, that she starts to believe it herself. The sex and the choice of partner might have been a mistake, but her baby wont be.

The day she leaves work, she hands Gabriel a card with her contact information if he ever decides to change his mind on getting involved, knowing that he wont. "Even if you just want pictures or updates. You don't have to be a stranger unless you want to," she assures him. It's quite clear that he does.

She sets up a three-month lease on a new place before she flies back to the US, not yet sure about renting for longer or finally buying a home. She has a sizable savings, but the prospect of buying a home at DC prices still seems like a distant, daunting dream. The short-term lease will give her space to breathe and figure out her options.

The day before she leaves, she finally thinks to call her mother and let her know. There's a minute, right at the beginning, where she's not entirely sure how her mother is going to react to all of this, her daughter's second unwed and unpartnered pregnancy. It passes with her quickly congratulating Emily on the news, telling her that they should meet soon. She tells Emily that she's happy, and Emily believes her.

Leaving is almost too easy. Before, she loved to travel, hated feeling settled down to one place. Even though DC holds painful memories, Emily finds herself growing more and more excited each day that approaches towards the move.

Across the pond, JJ sets Emily up an appointment with her old OB, spends the weekend with Will and Henry buying Emily some basic furniture by sending her pictures on her phone of things she thinks Emily might like and receiving Emily's approval or disapproval. It isn't everything, but it's enough that Emily will be able to move straight into her apartment. JJ and Will spend a lot of time chatting about Emily. JJ is excited, and Will has to admit that the enthusiasm starts to rub off on him as they get into the habit of skyping with her together some nights, awaiting her return.

The next weekend, Emily flies home. It isn't difficult to leave at all.


	5. Chapter 5

Emily insists that nobody comes to pick her up, because it's out of the way, and there's no use when they can just meet at her new place to grab the keys from JJ.

JJ, to her credit, tries to keep the excited squealing to a minimum as she hugs Emily and hands her the envelope with the keys in it. "You're back for good, aren't you?"

Emily smiles as she squeezes the woman who she's pretty certain is her best friend. "I don't know about forever, Jayje. Definitely a long time."

They agree to meet for dinner in a few hours after Emily's had some time to settle in and have a nap. Emily catches JJ staring longingly at her still-flat abdomen just before she leaves. "It isn't too late, you know." Emily tells her, the ghost of a joke in her voice.

Later that evening, Garcia, Reid, Morgan, Rossi, Hotch, JJ, Will, and Emily crowd around a table at "their" favorite Chinese restaurant. Garcia excitedly quizzes her on everything about the baby, not that Emily knows much yet. Reid recites helpful pregnancy facts and statistics. Everyone congratulates her, tells her how happy she looks, how happy they are to have her back.

It isn't the same, but the unease that had lead Emily to leave months ago is gone, replaced with the knowledge that running away from the familiar wont make her life any better. These are the people she loves, and who love her back, and that takes work.

JJ and Will walk her back to her rental car after dinner that evening, laughing and joking the four blocks to where she'd found parking. In a moment of earnestly with no strangers to witness their moment, Will stops Emily to tell her what he'd wanted to say in the restaurant. "We're all happy to have you back. Whatever you need, JJ and I will be there for you."


	6. Chapter 6

The next week is hectic. JJ is called out of town on a case by Monday, and Emily is swamped with things to do. She starts putting around calls about getting a new job, making it no secret that she's expecting and looking for a job that's going to offer good leave options. She doesn't bother reapplying for the BAU, because she doesn't need another high-stress job, and doesn't think that a job that would require travel would be a viable option.

She's willing to wait for the right option. So she's surprised when it arrives that Thursday in the form of an interview at a private consulting firm. It isn't the sort of job she'd ever expected for herself, and certainly not at her age. When the topic of maternity leave comes up, one of her interviewers gives a small shrug and tells her that she can take her 12 weeks leave and add on a work-from-home option up to the first six months, longer if it ends up working out." Emily realizes then that the job interview was less of an interview and more of a formality in offering her the job.

"Why me?" she asks, puzzled.

"Your experience, intellect, language, and cultural skills will serve us well here. I know this isn't the kind of job you're used to, but we feel that you could be a great asset to our team."

Emily isn't going to say no, and somehow walks out of her first job interview since coming back to America, with a job.

Later that day, she meets with her new OB. Checking in at reception reminds her of a uniquely American problem she now suffers from- being uninsured for the next three months until her employee insurance kicks in. Barring any complications, three months of paying for her own care shouldn't hurt too much, but it still leaves her a bit concerned and vowing to look into her insurance options.

They take some blood work and do another ultrasound at this appointment, not having access to the previous one and wanting to confirm again that everything seems to be in order. Emily uses her cell phone to record a grainy video of the ultrasound, the heartbeat of her tiny child filling the room as their figure moves across the screen. She fires off a copy to JJ, and then on second thought, a copy to Will.

JJ calls her two minutes later, crying, and then Emily is crying too, in the empty office waiting for her doctor to come back in. Emily hangs up as Dr. Novak walks back in, all smiles. "Everything is looking good so far, Emily!" she says. "We'll schedule you back for another visit in a month so you can have your triple screen and we can talk about any further testing at that time, but right now everything's in order. Just keep taking your prenatal vitamins and taking care of yourself."

The hope grows, wraps itself around some of the doubt in her mind, starts to suffocate it.


	7. Chapter 7

The job doesn't start until the first week of September, so Emily has a couple of weeks to kill.

She decides to dedicate one day to picking out a new car to buy and getting rid of her rental car, realizing that there's no point in putting off the purchase when she's going to need a car no matter what. The next she signs up for a prenatal yoga class, and finds herself standing in whole foods armed with a list of healthy foods of dubious taste to buy, stocking her fridge and her pantry.

She researches pregnancy, buys a few books, looks into local classes. When an online comment tips her off to the fact that a good daycare can mean a very long waiting list, she starts to research nearby options and quickly decides that she's probably better off hiring a nanny. Still, she thinks, it wouldn't hurt to check a few out.

One night, she has dinner at JJ and Will's home, Henry running around in the background and occasionally tugging on her shirtsleeves for attention. Emily marvels that he's getting so big, already nearly five years old. Twice on the weekend, the four of them go out to the park with a takeaway lunch and let Henry run wild. After they've eaten on their second visit, Emily watches Will and JJ play with Henry. She thinks back to the joke she'd made while JJ was still pregnant, about how JJ had snagged the last viable donor.

Emily wonders if perhaps JJ caught her in that line of thought, because the next time they're alone on skype, JJ's line of questioning immediately goes to her (lack of) love life.

"Have you had any contact with the father?" JJ asks from her hotel room.

Emily shakes her head. "I don't think he's going to be coming around, Jayje. I made it clear to him that I'm not going to push him into doing something he doesn't want to do, and he made it clear to me he doesn't want anything to do with a baby."

JJ sighs. "Which leaves you shouldering the burden."

"It isn't a burden," Emily says with a shrug. "I want my child to have a good father, but I can't make it happen."

"He's not the only man in the world, you know," JJ replies. "That can still happen."

Emily smiles. "Yeah, maybe I'll find what you and Will have one day."

After they end their call, JJ sits up on her creaky hotel bed, not really watching the news broadcast about their case playing across the screen. JJ thinks about Emily, facing down a pregnancy and a child alone. Emily is strong, capable, and will get through.

But JJ also thinks about Will, who is at home with Henry. Her wonderful husband who has been a loving father to her child since before Henry was even born, who now takes care of him so that she can continue to live the life she wants to live. She thinks of the fact that he's always wanted more children, that she's watched him let the idea go as he's tried so desperately not to fault her for it.

She thinks that they are all becoming better friends, thinks of the way Will is around Emily, of the longing with which Emily looks at Will. An idea that she isn't entirely sure isn't insane starts to form in her head.


	8. Chapter 8

Emily's new job starts off uneventfully, and she suspects that uneventful is what it's going to continue to be. Her new coworkers are nice enough, and the work is certainly intellectually stimulating, but it's going to take her a while to adapt to the idea of no longer trying to save the world.

She takes up jogging in the mornings before work every morning to let off some steam before spending her day at a desk, waking up every morning at 5:30 and drowning out the world with her music, her breathing, and the way her heart beats in her ears. She spends some evenings in, researching pregnancy and babies, skyping with JJ (and sometimes Will) when their schedules allow.

That Friday her coworkers invite her out for drinks after work, and the news of her pregnancy is quickly broken to them too as she sips on a coke throughout the night. She can see some of them glance at her hand, searching for a ring, and is thankful they have the tact not to ask questions she obviously doesn't want to answer. They ask her how far along she is instead, if she knows the sex yet, how she's doing. It's nice to finally start to feel like she belongs at work again, a feeling she'd sorely been missing during her short stint at Interpol.

During the brief downtime the case offers, JJ spends the rest of the workweek thinking about her conversation with Emily, about the feeling in her chest that she has when she knows she's called to do something. Only she's not entirely sure what that is. She has a wonderful husband, a hectic job that takes her away for days (and sometimes weeks) at a time, and a best friend that she loves dearly. She has her own beautiful son, and if she's honest with herself, she has a growing attachment to the child that will soon be Emily's child. She's known Emily and Will for about the same length of time, and loves them both dearly in different ways.

Eventually, she comes to the conclusion that while it's partially her decision, she can't make anything happen without the input of the other parties involved, and that the first step is talking to her husband. That Saturday night, after putting Henry to bed, she and Will curl up together on the couch to have a talk. Will asks her what's troubling her, having sensed for days that something was wrong.

It's the kind of conversation she'd never imagined having, so she's not entirely sure where to start. "We've been spending more time with Emily since the move," she starts with. "I've been enjoying that time together."

"Hmm?" he asks, wondering where she's going with this.

"I've been noticing some things. About the way you two treat one another, the way you two look at one another," JJ says. Sensing that he's going to try to defend himself, she quickly continues. "I'm not accusing you of anything. You don't even see all of it, the way that she watches you when you're with Henry. Like she's imagining for a minute that it could be hers, and that you could be hers. I know that neither of you would do anything to hurt me, but this has been bothering me."

"What're you saying?" Will asks, voice clearly puzzled.

"You care about her. She cares about you. I love you both and nothing is going to change that. I think we should seriously consider that the man she's been looking for is right here," JJ answers. "If that's something that you want to pursue, I will support you."

Will thinks about this for a silent minute, processing all the thoughts running through his head. "Have you talked to her about this?"

JJ shakes her head. "Not yet. I wanted to talk to you first."

"I'll admit that I'm fond of Emily, and that you're probably right about the way she feels about me, but why does that give me a free pass to break the vows I made to you? Why would you want that?" Will asks.

"You wouldn't be breaking any vows," JJ says. "Not in my eyes, not as long as you never stop being my husband. You want her. You want another child and will be a fantastic parent again if you're given the chance. She wants you. If it's what you both end up wanting when the offer is on the table, you can love her too."

Will sighs, pulls JJ closer. "We'll think about it."

Think Will does. He thinks about if Emily truly would reciprocate his feelings, if she'd be at all interested in an unconventional relationship like this, if it'd be the right thing to do by her. Will thinks about if it would truly be fair to Jennifer, if she wouldn't one day resent him for falling in love again. He thinks about Henry, wonders how they could possibly explain something like this to their son if it came to that.

They get together that next Saturday to discuss it again after putting Henry to bed. They sit at the kitchen table, enjoying the first bit of time they've had to themselves all week.

"Are you still sure?" Will asks her, already knowing the answer.

"Of course I am," JJ says with a nod. "I wouldn't have asked you if this wasn't something I wanted."

"The part that troubled me," Will starts. "Was those vows that I made to you. I thought about what they mean and who I made them to. I stopped and I thought, is it okay to be breaking them in this situation? I spent a lot of time wondering if this was something we should do or not, and then I spent more wondering if this is something we are compelled to do. I do."

"So where do you want to go from here?" JJ asks.

"We have to tell her."


	9. Chapter 9

They decide not to delay the inevitable, so the next morning, JJ calls Emily and asks her if they can come over after finding a sitter for Henry. Emily sounds a bit puzzled at this, but tells JJ that she'll be free all evening and they can come whenever they'd like to.

An hour before they leave at 5:30, JJ frets around the bathroom trying on different outfits, fiddling with her hair, and occasionally giving herself a stare in the mirror. "There's no going back after this," she thinks. Either they're going to be making a great decision or a terrible one, but either way, it's all going to be out there for Emily to decide.

They end up walking to a place nearby Emily's apartment for dinner, and then heading back to her apartment for coffee, dessert, and their long-awaited conversation. If Emily senses that they're nervous (and she probably does), she doesn't breathe a word of it to them while they're out. She is enthusiastic and friendly the whole evening as they catch up.

Once they're settled in with their desserts however, Emily's face changes, searching their own for answers. "What is it you're not telling me?" she asks, directing the question to neither of them in particular.

Will looks at JJ, who nods. "I'll start," she says. "Will and I have been doing some thinking for a while and there's something we want to talk to you about. If you're not comfortable, you can tell us no and that will be the end of it."

Emily nods, curious. "Okay, well are you going to tell me?" she asks.

JJ slowly inhales before speaking. "We've known you for a long time, Emily. You know that we both care very much about you, right?" JJ asks, not really stopping for an answer, though Emily nods anyways. "This whole situation, your return, has drawn us all closer together. It wasn't difficult for me to realize your feelings towards Will were growing, and that he reciprocated them. It doesn't bother me, Emily, not like some people might say it should. Will and I have discussed it, and if you feel the same way that we do, we are open to you and Will pursuing a relationship."

JJ can't read the look on Emily's face when she replies. "What do you get out of this?"

JJ laughs. "Will asked the same thing. It would make the two of you happy. That would make me happy. You're already in my life, Emily, and if you're on the same page then both of us would like to take steps to see if we can work out as a family."

Emily nods, then turns to look at Will. "How about you?"

"If you said yes, you'd be offering me more love in my life," Will says. "I can imagine our life together, and that it would bring all of us happiness."

"How far are you both willing to go? What do we call this?" Emily asks.

"You and Will can date," JJ answers. "If the time comes, we are both open to the idea of you and your child being our family, and we're both open to the idea of Will marrying again."

Emily lets it sink in then, what they're proposing. It sounds less like dating and more like courtship. "We'd have to be very careful about this," Emily answers slowly. "What you're talking about doing, with who we are and what our careers are, that's going to mean keeping secrets from everyone but those we could absolutely trust."

Will nods. "We understand that this choice will involve some sacrifices. Our hearts are telling us that this is the right thing to do. We are compelled to do this. We're willing to sacrifice for you, Emily, because we think we'll be gaining so much more than those things."

"I appreciate how difficult it must have been for the two of you to come to this decision and to tell me," Emily says. "I have to admit, while this is a surprise, it isn't an unwelcome one. You're right, JJ, that the feelings are shared. I'm willing to try."

It's a start. It's their start.


	10. Chapter 10

Will and Emily agree to try to meet during the workweek to try and preserve the limited time JJ gets at home, although they all agree on Emily visiting all three of them (Henry included) at least once on the weekends or when their schedules permit.

Emily takes off work early on Tuesday evening to attend an OB appointment before her prenatal yoga class. It's a smooth visit. Dr. Novak tells her that her triple screen was fine, and that while she can choose to undergo an amnio to be safe, there's no strong indication for it when weighed against the small risk of miscarriage. Emily agrees that it isn't an option she wants to pursue, so they schedule her in for her next ultrasound in a month. Dr. Novak also advises her that this is the point in the pregnancy where she should be looking into researching making a plan for the birth, registering for classes to prepare, and getting her home ready.

With a start, Emily realizes there's only 25 weeks left until she's due. She thinks of those plans, of the birth and a house to come home to, imagines Will in it. It feels ridiculous, too soon. She spends the yoga class thinking about this, not really able to clear her mind. She's known both of them for years, was there before Henry was even born. It's not difficult at all to imagine.

On Wednesday night, after a day at work that Emily's convinced drew on entirely too long, she and Will meet for their first official date. They meet up at the restaurant Will had chosen (after consulting with JJ, who had pretty much told him where to go.) Before they head in, Emily catches Will staring at the tiny bump that has developed underneath her dress seemingly overnight.

She smiles her brilliant smile at him, tells him that it's okay to touch. He gently cradles her abdomen with both his hands, face lighting up. She notices he's not wearing his ring. Seeing her gaze, Will nods at her unasked question. "We thought it would be easier if I wore it around my neck for now. No unwelcomed questions from strangers or the impression of impropriety."

Emily laughs as they walk in. "We wouldn't want to be improper, would we?"

After they get seated and really get into their conversation, it's so easy. This isn't a complete stranger; it's her best friend's husband, her own friend. Emily had come to the date expecting conflicting emotions, wondering if she'd feel guilty when they chatted about JJ, if things would be irreparably awkward once they acknowledged that he is a man with a wife. Emily isn't deluding herself, she knows that guilt and jealousy will occur one day, but the rest of it is just painfully easy. Good.

She's happier around Will than she's been in a long time. The respect he treats her with puts her finally at ease, able to let her guard down, to trust him. He is kind, gentle, everything which she'd never truly imagined for herself.

Will thinks of his call to JJ earlier that evening. She'd wished him luck, told him not to be too nervous, told him that she loves him and knew he loves her and that no amount of love he felt for another woman would ever lessen that. "Try to make peace with it," she'd said.

Peace, Will thinks, as he touches her tiny little baby bump and imagines that the child inside could one day be his.

They leave on a good note, having both enjoyed the night greatly. Will walks her back to her car again, stops her in front of the door, gently kisses her cheek. Emily almost can't stop smiling as she drives home.

If they're going about making a family the wrong way, it doesn't yet feel wrong.


	11. Chapter 11

They agree to meet again on Friday night at a late summer concert watching a young baroque violinist with his 1695 Giovanni Grancino violin. Emily gets on skype with JJ as soon as she gets home, tells her everything, shares the good with her.

JJ would be lying to herself if she said it wasn't difficult to hear another woman falling in love with her husband. It doesn't so much bother her to know that Will is growing to love her too, so much as it makes her feel a tiny bit of resentment that it isn't her who gets to be there with Will right now. But she's the one who had decided not to give up her career for Will or Henry, that she could pay the price of being apart from both of them regularly. She's happy that Emily is there to fill some of that time apart, happy that her friend is finding a man who is finally worth it for her. It's work, but it's work she signed up for with both eyes open.

That Friday, after a beautiful concert and a wonderful evening together with Emily, Will spends the rest of the night in with JJ. They talk about her week at work, about how Henry's been doing, about Emily. They plan their own little date night on Sunday. Before they go to bed for the night, JJ unclasps his neck chain, lays it down on the table, puts his ring back on his finger. It's warm, affectionate, accepting.

On Saturday afternoon, they take Henry to the mall to buy some long-awaited legos, and Emily to shop for maternity clothing. JJ ends up going with Henry, and Will goes with Emily as she fusses over pants with elastic waistbands and work dresses that are loose in the belly. After Henry finally picks a lego set that meets JJ's requirement of being easy enough that he can actually finish it after wandering around the store marveling at every one of the displays, and Emily picks out a work week's worth of clothing, they meet for lunch at a pizza restaurant.

It's work, but they're all able and willing.


	12. Chapter 12

Will and Emily often visit on Mondays or Tuesdays for the next month as it's when their schedule allows for it to work, with their own careers occupying both of their time and JJ being the focus of Will's weekends and the rare Thursday or Friday she's already home. Emily often takes up babysitting for them on the weekends so they can have some alone time and she can have an opportunity to bond with Henry, getting to know him more and more each visit.

They do manage to schedule Emily's next ultrasound, at nineteen weeks and three days, on one of those Fridays where JJ is home. After consulting with her and calling the OB's office to make sure that special friends would be allowed in the room, they agree to go together.

Emily is really starting to show by the time the appointment rolls around, feeling the aches and pains of pregnancy more and more.

Their sonographer quickly explains the procedure to them and gets Emily up on the exam table. He's calm and professional, telling them all in detail what he's looking at as he goes through the process of the 45-minute exam. It's hardly ten minutes into the exam that Will is visibly touched by his emotions, and another ten before both of them have joined him. By the time he prints them out a little picture of Emily's son right at the end, Will is actually crying, dabbing his eyes with a kleenex. His other hand holds Emily's.

Emily thinks of the beautiful life ahead for her child, of all the wonders and the pain, of Will's hand in hers, of JJ finally, visibly, allowing herself to want.

It's perfect, affirms to her that they're doing the right thing. Emily thinks they used the right word to describe it. Compelled. It's compelling.

They each get a copy to take home. Later, Will and JJ discuss the experience alone at home.

Will tells her that it hurt him, the amount of joy that he'd felt staring at that screen, how badly he wanted that to be his child. How much it already felt like this was his son. How much he'd loved Emily in that moment. JJ tells him that she'd only felt such heartbreaking love once before, seeing Henry.

It's like a sign from the heavens when Emily calls them that evening. "I want more," she says. "We all want more and we need to plan for it."

That evening, Emily sends photos of the ultrasound to her mother, arranges to meet with her for lunch over what she's pretty sure is her mother crying on the other end of the line over her first grandchild.


	13. Chapter 13

The next day they meet at JJ and Will's house, get to talking after getting Henry distracted with his favorite TV show. They sit at the table, Will and JJ across from Emily. Will holds Emily's hand from across the table briefly, and then drops it to run his fingers through JJ's, squeeze.

"We've known you for so long, but all of this is so new to us. I already love you, Emily. We already love you," Will says. "If we want to take this further, we need to talk about what that means."

Emily nods. "I want it all. I want you to be the father of this baby. I want to be Henry's mother too. I want us to find a home together. I want to make this as official as we can make it."

Will allows himself to finally believe it then, that they want the same things.

JJ speaks next. "Do you want to have your own home, where Will spends his time with you and then spends his time with us, or do you want to share a home with us?" she asks.

"No, no," Emily replies. "Together. I love you like a sister, JJ, and I love Henry more and more every day. We can make it work together. We'll definitely need something bigger than this," she says with a gesture at their two-bedroom condo.

"And the baby?" Will asks. "How will we . . . How can he just be ours?"

"Because that's what we'll tell people who have a reason to know," Emily says with a shrug. "We'll have to let in those who are closest to us, but everyone else? He's just yours."

Will aims his next question at JJ. "How do you feel about this? What do you want, hon?"

"I agree with Emily. We spend so much of our time together that it wouldn't make sense for us to be apart. And after the baby is born and Emily is at home for a while, it makes sense for her to be there for Henry too. We'll need to come up with a plan to split Will's time, try to make it as fair as possible given our work schedules. Obviously he can be there for you most of the time after the baby is born, I wont get in the way of that," JJ says. "We'll need to decide who and how we're going to tell people. Figure out how to explain this all to Henry. Talk to a lawyer, and a realtor."

They spend the next hour discussing logistics. Putting Will on the birth certificate, how to explain the FMLA leave to his boss when the baby is born, who from their families they will tell, who from work they will tell.

"Around people we can't tell the whole truth, you're the mother of my child," Will says. "If we're going to make this a marriage, what we're going to be doing could be considered illegal, and would threaten all of our jobs. We need to be very careful about who we trust with this."

_A marriage_, Emily thinks. Something that for so long she'd believed that she'd never want or have, soon to be hers.


	14. Chapter 14

They manage to get their new lawyer (after extensive searching on Emily's part) to meet them on the next Saturday.

They try to go for a subtle introduction of their needs, asking questions about how to legally protect each other in a partnership, write appropriate wills, purchase property together, give them legal rights to their non-biological children. Their new lawyer, a Susan Hall, quickly cuts through their dancing around the topic. "So Jennifer and William are legally married, and you're trying to figure out how to cover your asses when William and Emily are spiritually married without dissolving the prior relationship."

They glance nervously at each other before nodding. "That's right," Will answers.

She goes through the process of explaining wills to them. After some discussion of their financial situation, Susan recommends that they find a realtor who they can make aware of their partnership, purchase the home in Emily's name with Emily being the mortgage borrower. It's what Emily's research had already led her to anticipate, in light of the reality that she is bringing in the biggest income in the family. After signing the original deed they can go right ahead and immediately file a change of ownership to add JJ and Will's names to the deed. They make another appointment to finish the wills, and she explains that they'll be referred to in-house tax attorneys for help dealing with the tax issues that will result from their living situation, as well as a real estate attorney to help them buy their home.

They meet with their mortgage lender later that morning, providing him with all of the documentation he'd requested Emily bring in over the phone. After reviewing the paperwork briefly and inputting some of the data, he tells them that pending confirmation of all the documentation by Tuesday morning, she'll likely be pre-approved for the maximum, leaving them with the option of putting forward a large down payment on the home or pursuing a secondary route of financing for the excess costs. It'll be a squeeze getting the kind of home they want for their growing family on that budget given the area housing prices, but the probable profit they'll make from selling JJ and Will's existing home should leave them with a decent budget.

Two days later, the call comes in while Emily is at work, confirming that Emily is pre-approved for the legal maximum of $625,500.


	15. Chapter 15

Emily feels more than a little conspicuous when they go shopping for a wedding ring set, her pregnant belly growing more by the day. In light of her slightly swollen fingers, the jeweler explains that while the band will be easy to resize, the engagement ring really shouldn't be sized more than one size in either direction without compromising the integrity of the design, and that she may want to keep that in mind when deciding on a ring.

They decide to get a ring set that will fit for now and deal with the prospect of resizing a ring (or purchasing an entirely different one) if and when the time comes. Will laughs nervously (although the jeweler doesn't catch it) when asked if he'll be buying a ring too, and explains that he already purchased one.

Emily eventually picks out a beautiful sapphire ring with a delicately engraved band, and a matching wedding band. The set is, by some miracle, actually in stock in Emily's size and so Will is able to take the rings home that evening.

As they walk home, there's another little miracle, as Emily feels the first of many distinct kicks to come. Will lays his hand on her, searching, and then his whole face lights up.

That evening on the phone, JJ finally lets Will in on a thought that she's been having since they were at Emily's ultrasound. "How would you feel about stopping using birth control?" JJ asks, audibly nervous.

Will finds himself shocked, because the prospect of having two children was already beyond his wildest dreams given JJ's reluctance to have any more children. He plays her words over in his head, confirms that she's trying to offer him three. "Of course. What changed your mind?"

"It didn't seem realistic before, when it was just the two of us, and my job taking me away all the time," JJ says. "With Emily, things seem different."

"Whatever you decide, you know I'll support you," Will says. They finish their call on a high note, Will feeling ridiculously happy about this turn of events. The possibility of three children! Two beautiful wives to give him the big family he'd told himself he was no longer allowed to dream of.

The next day, Will calls their own realtor about getting their own house listed as soon as possible, and quickly explains that they're going to be moving in with a friend and don't need help finding their new home. It isn't entirely the truth, but it isn't entirely a lie, either.

On Saturday morning, they meet with their realtor. Emily had exhaustively researched her options and briefed them on the phone of the basics of their needs. Six or more bedrooms, the option for four of those bedrooms to be on the same floor.

The realtor, Laura, has obviously done her research. The few houses she offers to show them that day are all more or less within the parameters they're looking for. One especially catches their eyes from the photos, and they decide to drive out to Alexandria to see it. It's a reasonable distance from all of their jobs, a good neighborhood for the children to grow up in.

Laura is friendly, makes small talk with Emily about when she's due, asks JJ how many kids she has. On the phone call Emily had briefly explained that they were three adults with children, but Laura asks Will about Emily's pregnancy, and then chats with Will about Henry.

She isn't the least bit judgmental about it, and never actually spells her suspicions out. Emily suspects that this has something to do with her desire to make the sale, polygamist customers or not.

When they arrive at the house, they're instantly in love. The house presents a modest facade out towards the street, the one upper story visible with the lower partially obscured by the hill it's built on. It looks like the average family home.

They pass the two-car garage to enter into the second floor. It has a spacious foyer which leads in one direction to the library and master bedroom, and in the other direction to the kitchen, living room, laundry room, and dining room.

On the lower level, there's an open recreation space by the stairs with a wet bar, four bedrooms with three bathrooms, and a media room that could easily be converted into an additional bedroom. The brightly lit recreation room also leads to patio, as does one of the bedrooms. It's much nicer than a fully enclosed basement would be.

The tour doesn't stop there, though. She leads them up the stairs, out the door, in the garage, and to the in-law suite above the garage. It has a small kitchen and living space, a single bedroom, and a small room that could be used as an office.

JJ plots as they travel through the house. Laura keeps a somewhat polite distance from them as they chat. "This room would be perfect for Will. A private office of his own, plus a private space for either of us to come up to when we wanted to. You could take the master bedroom on the main floor and use the connected library as a nursery. Henry and I would have the whole lower level. We're all in one house, but we've all got enough space this way."

The house is a steal of a foreclosure for so much space in such a good location, listed at 1,175,000. They call Laura back after deliberating for a few more minutes. It'll be a stretch, alright. One that will likely require them to take out a second line of financing to cover the excess costs. "We'd like to make an offer."

Half an hour later, they're back at her office, with Emily filling out paperwork. Once she's finished, Laura promises to call them as soon as there's news.

Emily drives home in her own car, and JJ and Will in theirs. JJ takes advantage of the fact that Will is cornered in the car to chat with him. "You have to propose to her soon, Will. We need to tell our friends, and tell Henry soon. We agreed we wouldn't do that until the relationship was more official."

Will smiles at her ambush, holds her free hand for a moment. "Of course, JJ."

A pained look crosses her face. "We still haven't decided what to tell Henry about this."

Will sighs, because this is a problem which has been troubling him, too. "He's young. Kids are accepting at his age. We'll tell him that mom and dad love each other very much, and that we both love Emily so we decided to bring her into our family as another mom. That Emily is going to be the mother of his little brother."

JJ lets out a breath. "The three of us love both of these children so much that we all chose them. I hope Henry can understand that."

"He will one day," Will assures her. "Because all three of us will show him so much love."


	16. Chapter 16

JJ finds it increasingly difficult to keep the secret from the BAU, especially after finding out that their home offer was accepted. Hotch seems to suspect something's up, asking her how she's doing one night as they head back to their hotel rooms. She smiles tiredly at him, assures him that everything's great, and it's just been busy.

Hotch doesn't seem to entirely believe her, but he lets it go, accepting that she'll come to him in her own time.

On Will's end, he quietly lets his boss know that he will be planning to take leave to bond with his newborn in a few months.

"But not to take care of Jennifer?" his boss pointedly asks, having picked up on his choice to specify only "bonding with a newborn" where the law does not allow for FMLA leave to take care of your unmarried partner.

Will shakes his head. "No, not to take care of Jennifer, sir."

"Does Jennifer know?" he asks.

"Yes, sir," Will replies. "She is well aware."

Without asking further questions, not wanting to pry into the personal lives of his employees beyond what is absolutely needed, he promises to put through the request for leave and avoid making any mention that the leave is not for taking care of his wife's child.

That Friday, Will tells Emily to dress up for a special occasion on their date that evening, and Emily knows what's up. She spends an hour trying to decide between her few maternity dresses, finally opting for a figure hugging mock wrap dress and putting her hair up in what she hopes is a good approximation of a fancy bun. She's all nervous jitters as she drives up to where they agreed to meet.

They end up walking to the steps of the Jefferson memorial with a cup of hot chocolate in each of their hands, staring out at the tidal basin in the freezing cold weather.

Will lets out a little chuckle to himself. "I'll make this damn quick before we freeze to death," he says. Emily turns to him, looks expectantly. He pulls the ring box out of his pocket, looks her in the eyes. "Emily, you've brought more joy to our lives these past three months than I can put to words. The love I feel for you is a need, and nothing would make me happier than the knowledge that we are in this together forever. You've saved my life once before and now I want you to share it. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

Emily flings her arms around him, hugging him the best she can with her belly in the way. She nods against his shoulder. "Yes, yes. I would love that."

When she pulls back, Will pulls the engagement part of the ring out of the box, slips it onto her finger. She quickly kisses his cheek, holds his hand as they walk back ready to start the next part of their lives.

That night, JJ calls her mother to break the news. It doesn't go very well at all. Will holds on to her, tells her that it's going to be okay, that she'll come around.


	17. Chapter 17

They dub the next day their coming out party, inviting Emily's mother for lunch in the afternoon, and then the team at the BAU over for dinner.

They decide to host both groups at home after their sitter agrees to take Henry out for the day.

Elizabeth is most of her usual intimidating self, but there's something soft about her when she asks to touch Emily's swollen belly. She's waited a long time for this.

It doesn't take much longer for her eyes to turn to the sapphire ring on Emily's finger. Emily nods, takes a deep breath, and grabs Will's hand. His own wedding band is clearly visible, no longer hidden away. JJ, sensing that Emily doesn't yet have the right words to say, takes hold of Will's other hand.

"Mom, this is William, my fiance. You've met Jennifer, his first wife," Emily finally says. "If you want to sit down and eat with us we can explain everything."

Elizabeth finds herself shocked in those few minutes, sitting down and accepting food as it is served to her. She sips her glass of water as she watches the way they interact with one another, watches the way her daughter smiles at Will. She watches the way Will looks at both Jennifer and Emily like they're the most wonderful things in the world. She is not an ignorant woman, this is not the first time she has met polygamists. But it's something entirely different to imagine your daughter in that role, the other wife.

But Emily finally seems happy, has slowed down, settled into a job that wont keep her awake nights with worry. If these are the people her daughter chooses to love, then she can accept them.

She talks to them about their marriage, about Henry (who she insists she wants to meet some time soon), when the wedding is. Eventually the topic of conversation turns to their living arrangements. Emily quickly explains that she's managed to get the lease on her apartment extended an additional month, hopefully long enough to work out the details for moving into their new house. It's quite obvious that the current house, with its two bedrooms, is just too small for their soon-to-be family of five.

Elizabeth presses for details on the new house. "It's big enough for our growing family, and the location is great for all of our jobs. We're worried about getting approved for a second line of financing on the house or coming up with a bigger down payment than we'd have liked to stomach. Since I have the higher income, it made sense for me to apply alone, but that puts it all on me."

"How much is it?" Elizabeth asks, pulling out a small notepad from her purse and a pen.

"They've accepted our offer of $1,150,000," Emily answers, confused.

"And the loan amount?" Elizabeth presses on.

"$625,500," Emily answers."

They stare at Elizabeth as she scratches out calculations over the next few minutes, taking one break to look up and ask them the address. Then she flips to a new sheet of paper, writing out what seems to be a letter. She neatly rips it off after signing it, hands it over to Emily. "You'll need to put down $115,000 of your own money to maintain confidence in your ability to pay the remainder of the loan. You're holding onto a letter explaining that I intend to cover the additional $409,500 and that it is a cash gift with absolutely no expectation of repayment. Sign and date it, Emily."

Emily gapes, open mouthed, at her mother. She's pretty sure JJ starts crying. "Mom, you can't, this is too much!" Emily protests.

Elizabeth smiles at her willful daughter, always reluctant to accept help even from those who take pleasure in being able to give it. "I can and I will. You are my daughter, you are getting married, and you will start your married life out right. Not under a mountain of debt or with your savings depleted," she answers.

Will and JJ spend the next few minutes thanking her profusely, lunches forgotten. Elizabeth tolerates them as she writes out the check, asks them to make a few photocopies of it for her records and theirs, which Will runs up to do. Later, as she leaves, Emily's mother makes her promise to update her about the baby, wedding, and house.

Will shuts the door behind her. Turning around, he faces his two partners. "Wow."

Emily stares at the door almost in shock. "That . . . did not go like I expected it to go."


	18. Chapter 18

It's a repeat of the same show that evening, except it's about a hundred times as intimidating because they've got to do it in front of a crowd.

It isn't long before the trickle of team members coming in starts to notice Emily's ring, in between being awed at her belly. Eventually she resorts to telling them that it's something she wants to talk to them about as a group. Penelope spends the next fifteen minutes staring at her accusingly as they wait for the last two (Aaron and Spencer) to arrive.

"There's something we want to share with you as our trusted friends," JJ starts with once everyone is settled in. She can see Aaron staring at her, awaiting the answer to his previously asked questions. "As you all know we've grown closer to Emily since she's been back. However, we were not ready to be entirely honest with you regarding the nature of our relationship until now."

"Relationship?" David asks, prompting further explanation.

"After searching our hearts," Will answers. "Emily and I have decided, with JJ's enthusiastic blessing, to get married." Again, he takes hold of both their hands in plain view of all the others.

You could hear a pin drop in the resulting silence.

Then Penelope speaks up, loud and excited. "Ooh, this is like watching Sister Wives except way more exciting! When's the wedding?" A few people nervously chuckle at this.

"We're not sure yet. We're in the process of buying a home together and would like to have that ready for us to move into after the wedding. Given the unofficial and frankly private nature of our wedding, we need to be cautious about our choice of venue, and haven't yet decided how we're going to actually perform the ceremony," Emily answers.

David speaks. "JJ, Will, it was my honor to host your first wedding. It would be my honor to host the second in your family. If you would allow me, I would be privileged to officiate your ceremony."

And then suddenly everyone is open with them, asking questions, making plans. Derek jokes with Will that he doesn't envy his position of loving two immovably stubborn women, to which Penelope elbows him for. Spencer offers his congratulations and statistics on approximately how many polygamists exist in the US. Aaron is the most reserved, catches JJ when she's in the kitchen grabbing another pitcher of water.

"Is this really what you want, JJ?" he asks her, concern in his eyes.

JJ looks at him, open and honest. "I trust Will. I trust that he will never break his promises to me, or to Emily. He has the love in his heart for the both of us. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that it's always been easy or that it's going to be easy, but this is the right thing for me to do. Do you see how happy they make one another? How much she enriches both of our lives? If the cost is that I have half of Will's time and attention, it's worth it," she answers with full and deep conviction.

He nods at her words. "Then I couldn't be happier for all of you. I mean it."

"You don't know how much I appreciate that. Almost everyone we've told so far has been so good about it that I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I know that one day we'll encounter the people who will judge us harshly for our choices, but it means the world to me that those of you who care about us all accept us," JJ answers. "The last thing I wanted out of this was for Emily to become our secret."

"It's a hard road you've chosen," he replies.

She smiles at him. "We're hard people."


	19. Chapter 19

Buying the house becomes a surprisingly smooth process after they have the money together. One minute everything's uncertain, the next they're racing towards the inspection and closing. They pass one of their big hurdles of moving into the new house when they finally sit Henry down and explain things as best they can to child that's nearly five.

Then another hurdle is passed, just days later, when they finally receive an offer on their house. They celebrate Henry's birthday with several of Henry's pre-school friends and their parents at a bowling lane, sing him happy birthday over pizza and a cake, play a couple of rounds with the bumper lanes up and a lot of excited cheering for very little pin hitting. It's good.

On that Tuesday, Will comes with her to her OB appointment. She introduces him as the father, and her OB doesn't blink. Dr. Novak asks her about how she's been feeling, how the pregnancy's been going. Measures her belly, listens to it. She recommends some blood work, a glucose tolerance test for diabetes, but otherwise says that everything is going fine. They leave the office with a lab order and strict orders to finally sign up for a childbirth class.

After the appointment, they head back to her place for dinner, and end up browsing online for wedding dresses that will fit her. Eventually she finds a lovely maternity gown he likes too, a simple white knee length dress with lace sleeves that seems to stretch everywhere and probably wont need any alteration. Emily orders it right then on rush.

On Thursday all four of them meet up with David at his house to discuss the wedding. Given the weather, they're forced to hold the ceremony indoors, and he takes a note to arrange for the furniture to be cleared out of his wide open living room and have some appropriate chairs put out before the wedding. They plan on what they want catered for dinner, agree to trust David's judgment on the hiring of a photographer, and eventually get into talking about what they want for the ceremony. They all agree that JJ will stand with Emily and that Alex Holman, one of Will's coworkers and friends who he has let in on the news (after more than a few signs that it would not be unwelcome) will stand as Will's lone groomsman. David makes a joke about if they're sure they want to invite so much law enforcement to the commission of a felony, and everyone has a laugh. It starts to take shape in their plans, and eventually they decide to set a firm date then and there, and decide that January the 3rd is as good as any day, giving them the whole weekend off to take a brief honeymoon. They schedule the weekend after that as a special trip for JJ and Will.

They make up a short list of everyone David needs to invite, having insisted that he enjoys the work of weddings and that's why he's had so many of his own. Will asks JJ how she feels about her mother coming. "We'll invite her. It's up to her if she decides to come or not."

The next week, Emily and Will finally get two classes lined up. The first, on Wednesday, is a brief two hour breastfeeding course they both attend after work. On that Friday evening and daytime Saturday, they attend a childbirth class together. Will doesn't wear his ring to the classes, to avoid others mistakenly calling Emily his wife.

It's a good, normal experience together. Emily feels much less nervous about the whole process after attending, not that most of what they learn isn't what she's already read about a thousand times from books and websites.

For Will, the experience makes him fall in love seemingly all over again.


	20. Chapter 20

Emily hires an interior designer right before the close, explaining the last-minute nature of their move and the fact that they're looking towards making the space functional as soon as possible. She helps arrange for the painters to come in the day the house closes, they prioritize which rooms they need finished first (the master bedroom, JJ's room, Henry's room, and Will's room, as well as the bathrooms they'll be using) and what they have a little more time to get done; the living room, nursery, and kitchen. The lowest priority item is setting up the rest of Will's apartment and his home office.

They go through designs and she describes the functional features she wants in the rooms they're going to be finishing, having already gotten JJ and Will's ideas for their rooms and their approval to go ahead. She also provides photographs of everything in her home as well as Will and JJ's home to get an idea of what should be moved and what should be donated. They arrange for movers to come on the second, leaving their own homes intact until the last possible minute. They decide to just paint the recreation room and spare bedrooms with neutral colors for now and deal with filling them later on in the moving process.

Emily is upfront about the fact that she's not looking for any remodeling and basically wants someone trustworthy to have the buying power to handle furnishing and basic decorating of the house. They agree on a furnishings and materials budget per room as well as her fee on top of that before the session is done. They agree to meet the day of closing with the keys and sketches for Emily to give her final approval over.

It's quick, productive, and a million less things Emily has to worry about.

That evening Will comes over for a visit, and they agree that he'll try to take the second and third of the month off to get his own home packed up, get everything that's going on the donation truck out the door in time, and generally be ready to move in by the wedding. They also agree that it would be best if he takes the 6th off so that they can travel back home on Monday.

Will insists on spending far too long before he leaves talking to her belly, which she puts up with out of sheer endearingness.

She spends the rest of the evening before going to bed putting together reservations for their honeymoon, with their wedding night at a hotel in DC, and then a train ride into New York the next morning for the weekend. She books the rooms, the train tickets, adds a special request for flower vases in the rooms, books them both spa appointments on Sunday. She figures they wont need much more than that.

It really hits her, then. She's going to be married. This is going to be her one and only wedding for her entire life, and it's happening soon.


	21. Chapter 21

Closing day finally happens on December 16th. She shows up with her cashiers check, they do a final walk through. She hands over the cashier's check for the closing costs, and signs some papers. Suddenly the keys are in her hands and it's 100% real, her home, for her family.

Ifama, their designer, is there to receive the second set of keys and set the painting in motion immediately as Emily heads back to work.

When Emily gets home from work late that evening having made up the hours she missed, her wedding dress has arrived in the mail. She excitedly opens the package, tries it on praying it will fit.

Fit it does. Emily stares at herself in the mirror, weight gain, giant belly, swollen ankles and all and feels more beautiful than she ever has in her life. She quickly takes a picture, sends it off to Elizabeth and JJ.

After changing out of the gown and leaving herself a reminder to drop it off at the dry cleaners tomorrow to get the wrinkles out, Emily settles down with her laptop with a shopping checklist. She browses and selects several maternity items, including two winter coats as she can barely stuff herself into her own coat any longer, and a swim suit for their vacation. She also orders a few nursing tops for when the baby comes, two stretchy nursing bras and a couple of nursing pads to get her through until her breast size settles down. Then comes a collection of both newborn and one-sized cloth diapers, detergents, and bags. She picks out a nursing pillow, a pack'n'play with bassinet for nights she might want to spend with the baby in Will's suite, a diaper bag, a little rocker, two different styles of slings, and various small supplies like a sleep sack, bathtub, and an array of cloths and towels.

The next day, Will accompanies her to another OB appointment. They find out that all of her tests came back normal, and although Emily complains that her heartburn is coming out of her ears at this point, she and baby are perfectly healthy. They discuss the birth a little at this point, how to recognize real contractions, that she should contact the OB's office or head into the hospital if she's having them before 37 weeks. Emily mentions that they're going away for the weekend soon, and Dr. Novak assures her that it's fine, simply advising her not to travel in the last month.

After the appointment, they head to a trendy and vastly overpriced baby store to pick out a few big items in person. On the ride over they bicker over baby names, neither of them having had enough of a break lately to put much thought into it yet. Will agrees to research some names, come up with a list of ones he likes so they can discuss it.

They end up deciding to go ahead and buy car seats for all three of their cars at this point, figuring that they're each going to end up transporting him at least some of the time. They also buy a booster seat for Emily's car so she can safely ride with Henry. After they pick out a stroller that collapses easily enough, they end up grabbing a mattress as well, to go with the crib their designer had bought.

Will insists on paying for the lot of it, and insists on carrying it all out to the car. When Emily protests, he simply points out that she's been spending far more than they have at this point and that they're going to need to chip in their share too. Then he assures her that there's not a damn chance in hell that he's letting his pregnant fiancee pick up heavy boxes.

For the rest of the week, every night they fuss about on the phone with one another over the names. Eventually they find one they both like, one that fits when Emily looks down at her belly and imagines her baby. Andrew.

They never do end up buying any clothes for baby Andrew, because JJ kept all of Henry's baby clothes stored up in the closet, more than they could possibly need. Receiving the giant gift box full of tiny baby clothes from JJ and Will the Saturday morning they meet up with they attorney again makes Emily start to tear up again. "JJ, these are beautiful!" she says between traitorous sobs.

JJ hugs her, pats her back. "It's just the pregnancy hormones making you do that, hon."

As she finally composes herself enough to waddle into the attorney's office, JJ distinctly hears Emily swear about exactly how done with being pregnant she is.

JJ and Will walk behind her, holding hands and grinning.

Half an hour later, they walk out with the change of ownership signed and as owners of their new home.


	22. Chapter 22

The next Saturday, Penelope and Derek show up to help her pack, Derek with two trays of lasagna and casserole for her fridge so she doesn't have to be cooking as much. It's less help and more forced gifting, because they make her sit down and tell them what to do with all but the essential belongings that she's going to leave until the last minute to pack.

Will spends half the morning of the Thursday with her overseeing the movers and making sure her apartment is entirely cleared out before sending her out to stay at her hotel. Then he heads back to meet the movers at his own place, mindful that they need it completely cleared out before the closing in two weeks and probably wont want to come back to do the job twice. After they've got everything cleared out, he takes one great big look at his old house and just lets go of it all, embraces the new life that awaits them all.

Will's shocked by how much progress has been made in their new house since he'd last been there. Their bedrooms were painted, furnished with all but the one bed they were bringing over (their own queen bed for JJ's room), with empty dressers and lights set up. Henry's room makes something catch in his throat, the thoughtful decorations and design that was put into the space quite apparent. Will knows that Henry will love it. After checking all the rooms, including the nursery which makes him more than a bit misty eyed, Will realizes that they must have finished up everything ahead of schedule as most of the rooms seem more or less complete.

After directing the movers to put the boxes in the right rooms, Will sets to the task of unpacking. JJ picks Henry up from daycare after work and takes him out to see a movie before they check into their own hotel, ordering an in room dinner which thrills Henry.

Across town , Emily gets a manicure and a pedicure in the hotel spa, enjoying the wonderful down time, but not the great big ball of nerves in her stomach that she's pretty sure is 50% baby and 50% acid.

Penelope, Derek, Alex, and David all show up to lend a hand in unpacking the home. Penelope also brings gifts this time, lots of them, in the form of nice groceries that will last them through the coming week, a meal for them all tonight, and disposable dinnerware to make the transition easier. She even goes the trouble of stocking the downstairs wet bar with a variety of healthy drinks for everyone. Will is genuinely touched by how helpful their friends are, how thankful he is to have them all in his life. Alex especially, whose support and advice as someone who has been where he is today he greatly appreciates.

Between all of them, they make quick work of getting most things where they should be. By ten that evening their belongings save for their clothes are pretty much unpacked, from stocking the kitchen and getting sheets out for the beds, right down to Derek sorting the diapers into decorative bins in a rainbow pattern. After they eat and set the many boxes out in the garage to later be recycled, Will joins JJ and Henry in their hotel room.

JJ wakes up out of her sleep to greet him as he comes in, wraps her body around his as he gets into bed. "I'm so excited for tomorrow," she says. "Love you so much. So happy for you."


	23. Chapter 23

JJ decides to take a pregnancy test that next morning. She's not even sure if she's really late on her period, and it seems ridiculous to think that they'd conceive so soon, but she stupidly hopes and decides to get the test to settle the matter. Will drops Henry off to pre-school for her, so she drops into the drugstore before work and picks up two tests, smiling nervously at the cashier as her order's rung up.

Naturally, she finds out it's all kinds of positive in a bathroom stall at work on the day of her husband's wedding. Despite being overjoyed, she decides it'll be her little secret just for the next few days, to give Emily a chance to be the center of attention.

David takes off the day of the wedding to make sure everything in his house is in order. The living room is converted into their own little wedding chapel, the dining room fully set for all their guests, and the caterers are in the background doing prep work by the time Will, Emily, JJ, and Henry arrive an hour before the other guests. David entertains Henry as Will heads off to one room to change and prepare, and JJ and Emily head off to another.

JJ helps Emily put up her hair, simple and delicate. "You're so beautiful, Emily," she says, staring at her for a long moment when they're done.

Emily smiles at her, clasps her hand. "You're going to make me cry more, you know."

JJ smiles, squeezes back. "This is a fitting occasion for that."

Five minutes later, as they work on their makeup, there's a knock on the door. Emily opens the door. Elizabeth is there, which they expected. So is Sandy, which they didn't expect. JJ is a mess as she runs up to her mother as best one can run up to a person in heels. "You came!"

"Spent some time praying on it, Jennifer," her mother says. "No matter how much I prayed or how much I read my bible, God didn't give me any sign that what you're doing is a sin. So I came."

JJ wraps both arms around her mother and hugs her for a long moment. "I'm so glad you came. It wouldn't be right if you missed this."

Then Sandy is looking at Emily, a familiar face from the last wedding of her daughter's she'd attended, a familiar personality from her daughter's many stories about her friend who saves the world. She embraces a shocked Emily. "Welcome to the family," she says.

Emily smiles, looks at how happy JJ is. "Thank you, ma'am."

"I think it's time we go," Elizabeth says. JJ and Sandy walk out ahead, and when the music starts playing Emily and Elizabeth know it's their cue.

Elizabeth looks at her beautiful glowing daughter, the grandchild inside her, at the smile on her face. "I couldn't be happier for you, dear," she says as they walk off.


	24. Chapter 24

The few rows of white chairs are populated with their closest friends and family, standing up in expectation as Emily walks in. She sees Will and JJ at the end of the short isle, looking at her with that love that they've been looking at her with for a long time, and the joy in her chest is almost overwhelming. Her mother kisses her as they reach the end of the isle, sits down.

Dave begins his brief service.

"We have all been invited here to share with Emily and William a very important moment in their lives. Before we begin, I would like to share a reading," David says. Somewhere in the background a camera shutter snaps repeatedly, and someone's already sniffling. Emily looks at Will's eyes and thinks of peace.

"You were born together, and together you shall be forever more.

You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.

Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup, but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together yet not too near together:

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow."

After a moment's pause, JJ steps up in front of the couple. She grasps Emily's offered hand, lays it on Will's, whispers "I love you" at both of them before getting back in place.

Emily starts her vows first. She prays to be able to speak, to get all the words out with the giant lump of emotion that's in her throat. "I take you, William, to be my husband, loving you now and as you grow and develop into all that God intends. I will love you when we are together and when we are apart; when our lives are at peace and when they are in turmoil; when I am proud of you and when I am disappointed in you; in times of rest and in times of work. I will honor your goals and dreams and help you to fulfill them. I will embrace your family as my own and support you as it grows. From the depth of my being, I will seek to be open and honest with you. I will eternally love you and remain committed to you."

Then it's Will's turn, and it turns out that experience doesn't really help you any as far as marriages go, because he's a nervous wreck. "I take you, Emily, to be my wife, loving you now and as you grow and develop into all that God intends. I will love you when we are together and when we are apart; when our lives are at peace and when they are in turmoil; when I am proud of you and when I am disappointed in you; in times of rest and in times of work. I will honor your goals and dreams and help you to fulfill them. I will treat you equally as a member of my family and take your needs into account as we grow. From the depth of my being, I will seek to be open and honest with you. I will eternally love you."

Dave speaks up again. "Will you who are present here today, surround this family in love, offering them the joys of your friendship? Will you support this family in their relationships? At times of conflict will you offer them the strength of your wisest counsel and the comfort of your thoughtful concern? At times of joy, will you celebrate with them, nourishing their love?"

The crowd answers, loud and clear. "We will."

Will produces the ring, speaking as he puts it on Emily's finger. "With this ring, I wed you, and pledge you my love, now and forever."

Emily looks down at it, up at Will's smiling face. "I am wed to you, and pledge you my love, now and forever."

"Now that William and Emily have promised their lives together, by solemn vows and with the joining of hands, I announce that they are husband and wife," Dave says. The small audience stands and claps as Will and Emily finally have their first real kiss.


	25. Chapter 25

After two hours of exceptional food, embarrassing toasts, and an array of sometimes hilarious and sometimes helpful advice from Alex's wives, they're finally able to make their exit to the awaiting town car. Emily and JJ hug before they live, and Will kisses her before they leave.

The hotel is beautiful, lovely, and neither Emily nor Will notice a single inch of it.

The next morning, JJ and Henry check out of their own hotel and move into the house. JJ is awestruck at how well everything came together, and actually starts to cry when she sees how excited Henry is about his new room. He tugs on her pant leg with a worried look at this, tells her not to be sad. She picks him up, sits down on his bed with him on her lap. "I'm not sad, sweetheart. Sometimes people cry when they're so happy that all the happiness has to come out."

After a breakfast in bed, Will and Emily head out to New York. Emily catches up on work with her laptop during the ride over as Will uses his tablet to skype with Henry and JJ, letting Henry excitedly run around the house and show him all the new things like a hyperactive and forgetful tour guide.

The weekend is good, transformative. They learn new things to love about one another with every passing moment. Between spending time alone, occasionally venturing outside to eat, a trip to the pool that evening, and a spa appointment Sunday morning, the weekend passes by far too quickly.

Emily thinks of the fact that he's going back to JJ that night on their train ride home. She feels the pain, accepts it, lets it pass.

It isn't as hard as Emily imagined would be. That evening, after they put Henry to bed, Will kisses Emily by the door and follows JJ out the door.

Emily just lets him go. Peace, she thinks. For the love that they share. For her best friend, who opened her heart and let her husband go too. Peace, for their child asleep in his room, for their child inside her.

It's hard work, but it's hard work they chose.


	26. Chapter 26

JJ decides to wait until the evening before they're leaving for their little weekend trip to break the news. As they clean up after dinner, she just blurts it out. "I'm pregnant."

Will and Emily both drop what they're doing to crowd around her, Emily giving her the best approximation of a hug that a woman who is 31 weeks pregnant can, and then Will clasping her shoulder.

"We're having another baby," Will whispers, smiling at his own words. "We're having another baby."

"I'm so happy for you, Jayje," Emily says. "How long have you known? How far along are you? I didn't even know you were trying! Were you trying?"

"I found out the day of the wedding. I didn't want to take any attention away from your special day so I've been holding it in. It's been killing me! I'm about five weeks along. We weren't trying so much as newly opening ourselves up to the possibility and I'm apparently extra-fertile or something," JJ answers, all smiles.

The next morning, Henry and Emily wave off Will and JJ as they go. Later in the afternoon, Emily drives Henry to a scheduled play date with the Holman family.

The Holman family home is, at best, barely controlled chaos. Emily and Henry are greeted by two of the wives, Julie (who Emily had met at the wedding,) and Andrea (who had stayed home that evening to watch the kids.)

They all sit to watch the kids from the table as Henry is immediately engulfed in a group of four kids near his age, seemingly thrilled at the sudden attention. "Where are Elena and Erin?" Emily asks, referring to their two sister-wives.

"Erin is at the pediatrician's office with Isabel. Elena, Alex, and some of the older kids are out grocery shopping, which means we wont see them for hours," answers Andrea, who is rocking an infant in bouncer seat on the table.

They make small talk over Emily's pregnancy, and Andrea shares that she's also three months pregnant.

Looking out at the children, Emily has to ask. "What's your story behind all this?"

"I think I'll let Julie answer that," Andrea says with a laugh. "She married Alex first."

"I met Alex when I was eighteen and he was twenty. I think I knew from the moment that I met him that I was meant to marry him, although my family wasn't too pleased when we ended up marrying within half a year. Because of our shared religion, there was never any question that our hearts would be open to plural marriage. After taking a few years to establish our family, he met Elena when she was twenty one and they married a year later in 2001. Andrea came into the family in 2007 at eighteen. We met Erin when she was twenty that same year, but they didn't end up marrying for another five years until she'd finished her master's," Julie answers.

"And the kids?" Emily asks.

"I have Lauren, who is fifteen, my twelve year old Jacob, eight year old Ryan, four year old Kyle, and was most recently blessed with Daniel over here three months ago. Elena's oldest, Jason, is eleven. Then she had Zoe a year later, twins Paige and Elise two years after that, Logan who is five now, and Noah who just turned two. Andrea has four year old Addy, three year old Ezra, and thirteen month old twins Brendan and Grace. Erin has just the one, Isabel, who was born four months ago," Julie replies. Seeing Emily's widened eyes, she chuckles. "It's a long answer, we know. Sixteen wonderful children."

"How do you handle it all? Why?" Emily asks.

This time Andrea answers as Julie runs off to respond to another crying infant. "With great planning and patience. As I'm sure you're already starting to learn, our lifestyle isn't easy. But we believe that we are meant to be together for eternity, and that children are a blessing that we embrace having so long as we are healthy and able to provide for all of them. We believe this is how God wants us to live, that this is how God lives," Andrea answers. "I know you guys don't have the same level of religious conviction that we do, and maybe don't want all of the things we want out of our marriages. But I can't stress enough how much planning matters. Talk about other partners, children, how you want to raise your family now, while it's still small."

When they leave, Emily agrees that they'll be back to visit again. Henry excitedly tells her about the new friends he's made on the drive home as Emily thinks of Andrea's advice. Could a home with so much chaos and love be in their future?

**Let me know what you think of the story so far! I'm still working on this story. Where do you see things going for them?**


	27. Chapter 27

That next week, after another OB appointment where Dr. Novak asks her to start coming for visits more frequently at this stage in the pregnancy, they sit down for that serious discussion.

"My visit with the Holman's got me thinking," Emily says. "I love our relationship where we are right now, but we all need to come up with a plan and reach some common ground on some issues."

"What issues?" Will asks.

"How many more children are we going to have? Will it always just be me and JJ, or do we need to consider the possibility of another wife? If there's more children, who is going to be taking care of them?"

JJ answers first. "I did my soul searching before proposing your relationship. I'm open to the fact that you can love someone else, and that this may be what God wants me to do, and would extend that openness to a third wife. Given our careers and our growing family, it would also mean having one more adult in the family to care for the kids. If Emily wants to have more of her own children and is able to, of course I will support her. Personally, as long as neither of you object, my heart is telling me that we chose this so that we could grow our family and that is what I want to do."

Emily puts to word her own thoughts next. "I trust you to share your love and time with both of us, even if at some point in the future there's another woman or women in your life. I don't know how I'll feel about trying for another baby in the future after all of the joys of pregnancy I've discovered with this one, but I'm open to the possibility. And JJ, if you want one more baby or five more, as long as we can take care of them I will support you. I love being a mother to your child and we can make more children work."

Will looks at his two wives, finds it hard to imagine that he could possibly deserve more than this. It's already perfect. "I'll be happy forever if you tell me today there will never be any more children, if you forbid me from any other women. But in my heart I know, I think in our hearts we know, that we are no longer willing to be closed off to the potential for more. We are good, loving people. We have the means to provide for a bigger family. I don't want to deny it."

There will be many more talks, many more discussions of the details. Still, Emily is pleased that they can move forward with shaping the vision that they have for their family.


	28. Chapter 28

Work becomes more and more trying as Emily's pregnancy progresses, the prospect of waking up early every morning to waddle into her car, wade through traffic, and then sit at a desk for eight hours growing less and less appealing by the day. To her boss's credit, an ergonomic evaluation is ordered for the whole office when she's in her 33rd week, and that following Monday there's suddenly a much nicer chair at her desk, the proper size for her frame.

Emily and JJ decide to schedule back to back OB appointments when the opportunity presents itself that Friday. Dr. Novak actually does a double take when she comes into the exam room for the first time and sees Emily there, before JJ quickly explains that she's the patient and Emily is there accompanying her as a friend.

After reviewing JJ's health history since she had Henry, they take a urine sample and do an ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy and the presence of a heartbeat. Emily watches the screen, thinks back to when JJ was in her shoes. When the tiny little fetus and the tiny little beating heart is visible, Emily thinks she also can feel what JJ had felt back then. A joy so large that it crowds out everything else. Wanting desperately that everything will be okay, that this baby can be theirs. Emily squeezes on JJ's hand, wanting to convey how happy she is, how in love she is with the baby, with their husband, with her best friend. JJ squeezes back.

Dr. Novak looks up at them, catches them in their little moment, thinks of the fact that they've had the same man come to both of their appointments. "We get a lot of patients who are immigrants here," she tells them. JJ wonders how that's relevant just before her unasked question is answered. "Sometimes they're scared of seeing a doctor or being honest with them because they think we'll get them in trouble with the law, have their children taken or risk deportation. We do our best to make it clear that we will only report suspicions of child abuse or neglect as we are legally required to, and they have nothing to worry about as long as they try to be good parents. I'll make sure to note that you two are sisters and if there's any problems getting wristbands for you two to access the delivery floor to support one another, my office will take care of it. If you ever work with another OB in our practice you can be assured that this will be the case. We don't ever want to put our patients in a position where they might be afraid of seeking out medical care."

They both thank her a little more than is absolutely necessary at the end of their appointments.

That evening, Emily stays in to take care of Henry, answer emails, and perform work related research. Knowing that they're going to be late coming home that evening, probably after Henry and Emily will have already gone to bed, Will gently kisses Emily before they leave. Henry plays a game on Will's tablet as she works, usually staying safely in her sight. They both take a break for dinner before Emily sets him up on the living room floor with his Legos and resumes her work.

Later, Emily tucks Henry into bed, reads him a story, kisses his forehead. She thinks of JJ and Will, of the fact that it's always hard when it isn't her with him, that it's the same for JJ. But she also thinks of the fullness they all bring to her life, of her son in front of her, and having precious time to spend with him too.

She thinks about David's words at their wedding. Her career, her family, and her sense of self grows in the space between where the two of them stand, occupying that gap with fulfillment, making her life richer than if they were never there at all.

In the space where she has let go of the expectation of having the whole of any one person to herself, has stepped in a whole life.

Where she loses time with Will she gains time for everything else, gains a greater appreciation of the time that they do have to spend together.

It's work, but Emily's prepared to work at it forever.


	29. Chapter 29

The next Saturday, Emily and Henry drive to meet up with Andrea and take a few of the younger kids to the air and space museum.

After parking and unloading an excited Henry from the car, they meet up with Andrea in the lobby. Standing around her are Ezra, Logan, Addy, and Kyle, with Isabel strapped to her in a carrier and a diaper bag on her shoulder. It takes a bit of coordination to get all the kids and their belongings through security.

They head down the hall to the moving beyond earth exhibit for the museum's story-time hour. As they walk, Emily holds onto Ezra and Kyle's hands, and Andrea walks with Addy. Logan and Henry walk ahead of them, stopping seemingly every twenty seconds to look at some distraction or ask them questions.

It's quite enough walking for Emily, at an exhausting thirty five weeks, four days pregnant. When they finally arrive at the right room, Emily immediately takes a seat and lets Ezra and Kyle run ahead to sit in front of the storyteller. Soon, Andrea joins her, Isabel gurgling happily on her lap with a teething toy in her mouth.

Later, they corral the kids into the food court, buying happy meals for the lot of them. Andrea and Emily take the chance to catch up as they eat, Isabel in a high chair with Andrea feeding her a bottle and single-handedly eating her own meal.

"How's newlywed life treating you?" Andrea asks her. "And the pregnancy?"

Emily helps open a packet of ketchup and squirts it out in front of Henry's fries as she answers. "Getting used to taking care of Henry. I don't have much experience around kids, so this is all new to me. I think we're doing alright adjusting to living together. JJ's also pregnant, so we're having to figure out if we're wanting to keep our nursery arrangement. We're not sure how much use the nursery is going to get anyways, since she wants to keep the baby with her and it sounds like what I'm going to end up doing as well," Emily answers. "As for the pregnancy, I'm just about ready for it to be done. Andrew's fine, he's just spending way too much time trying to kick my ribs."

Andrea laughs at this. "Trust me, I know how it is," she answers.

"Your family practically wrote the book," Emily says with a laugh. "By the way, I wanted to thank you for suggesting we have a little family talk. We've started to clear the air about a few things in the future. I'm glad we did it."

Andrea nods. "We definitely had a few of those talks in the beginning before I married Alex, and even after. I wasn't raised this way, you know."

"You weren't?" Emily asks, her eyes widening for a second with surprise. "I just assumed."

Andrea shakes her head. "Most people do. People assume that nobody would choose this unless they were raised to believe. My family is part of the mainstream church, which outlawed polygamy a very long time ago. As I got older and really started to research my religion, I realized that didn't make any sense to me. Why would God tell us to practice plural marriage and then take it back because it didn't suit the political climate of the time? After I turned eighteen I started searching for people who felt the same way I do, if they even existed. That's when I met Julie."

"Wow," Emily says, keeping half her attention on Henry, who has mostly abandoned his meal and started playing with Logan again. "How do you go from that to married all in the same year?"

"Julie introduced me to the world of independent fundamentalists, that there's other people out there who want to practice our religion as it was in the Prophet's time. When I met Alex it just clicked; he is who God wanted me to marry. I ended up meeting other families who believe as we do during that time, but in the end Alex was it," Andrea says.

"And your family?" Emily asks. "How do they feel about it?"

"They're not in the picture anymore," Andrea says with a sigh, reaching over to pick up a handful of fries that Addy had dropped. "To them, I've left God. It doesn't matter that we share most of our religion, for them and many others it just comes down to the fact that I believe in plural marriage. They didn't come to the wedding, haven't seen any of their grand kids. It was the same for Erin, choosing this faith meant losing the love of her family. That's part of why it took her so long to really decide. Choosing to enter the family was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, and growing a family is difficult, but I wouldn't do it any differently if I were given another chance."

Emily thinks of her own new and growing family, of the struggles they've had and will continue to have. She looks at their full table of beautiful children with all the promise of the world in them. While they don't share the same religion, Emily thinks they both can agree on one point. This is how God wants them to be living. Happy, loving, loved. Raising good children. Sharing the work of motherhood and a marriage with other wives. It isn't for everyone, but it's what they both chose.

After cleaning up, a fifteen minute potty break, and Emily offering to carry Isabel for a while (and the ensuing struggle to properly secure Isabel onto Emily,) they head to the early flight gallery. Andrea has a printed worksheet in her diaper bag to share with the kids, with pictures of parts of a plane on it. They all circle around Andrea near the plane.

Andrea points to a wheel on the page. "Can anyone tell me where this is?"

Henry and Logan both search for a second and point to it. "Here!" Henry exclaims.

"You're right!" Andrea says with a smile. "Do you know what this does?"

They shake their heads.

"This is the wheel," Andrea says. "It helps the plane roll down the runway when it isn't up in the sky flying!"

Then comes the wing. "The wing helps the airplane leave the ground to go up in the sky, and helps it stay in the sky," she continues after the kids have the chance to find the wing.

Finding the rudder is a little bit trickier, so Andrea points it out to them. "The rudder helps the plane turn when it's flying," she explains.

Finally comes the propeller. Kyle excitedly points it out. "Right!" Andrea says. "The propeller spins around and around really fast so that the plane can move forward and fly."

She spends a few more minutes pointing out the parts on the Bleriot they're looking at. Then they walk over to the "how things fly" room, and the kids all get to play in a Cessna 150 as Andrea explains what all the parts are for and demonstrates using a few of them. Catching Emily's eye, she smiles. "I've been here a few times before."

Emily thinks about the sacrifices Andrea had to make to be here with her children today, how good a mother she is, how happy she seems to be.

During the car ride home, Emily and Henry chat about their visit with some of the Holman family, and if Henry liked the museum. They talk about the fact that the Holman family has more kids than they do, and more mothers.

During that talk, Henry spontaneously says "I'm happy I have more moms too."

"Why do you say that, Henry?" Emily asks, suddenly hit with an emotion she cannot describe.

"Because you're my mom too now," Henry answers, all innocent and nonchalant, before going back to talking about Logan and asking when they'll next play together.

Peace, Emily thinks. With her shared love and shared sacrifices, with the fact that she's doing exactly what she's supposed to be doing.


	30. Chapter 30

**This update sure took longer than I expected! Sorry. **

They get to talking about JJ's concerns for Henry starting kindergarten in a few months during their next play date with the Holmans. Henry is off playing a video game with Logan, Will and Alex are out for some guy time, and JJ and Emily sit with Andrea, Elena, and Erin.

Elena gives them all a confused look when JJ mentions this. "Well, why don't you have him sign up for our school?" she asks. "No need to worry about how he'll be treated then, and no need to worry about him keeping any secrets."

JJ and Emily both look confused. "Your school?" Emily asks. "What do you mean?"

Elena laughs. "I guess nobody has explained our schooling arrangement to you yet. We run a private school with a few families. Three of them share our lifestyle, one is a monogamous family that's friends of ours, and one is a family that is waiting on another wife," she answers.

"I'll get you our packet of forms if you want to read over them," Andrea adds, getting up.

"So how does it work?" Emily asks.

"We're all registered as one private school with multiple campuses. We run grades kindergarten to six out of our home, and then the Fishers run grades seven to twelve. Enrolled kids from other families attend based on age," Elena answers as Andrea comes back and hands both JJ and Emily informational folders. "Since Erin and I are both teachers, we run the classes here. The oldest of the Fisher ladies and their husband both work jobs outside the house, the next three oldest Fisher ladies run their end of the school, and their youngest takes care of their pre-school aged kids during the day. As of next year we should be at about seventeen kids a day at our school, and eighteen kids a day at their school."

"And what's the teaching like," JJ asks, an uneasy look on her face. "Is it religious in nature?"

Erin firmly shakes her head no before replying. "Absolutely not. Most of our students are members of our religion and do attend our Sunday school, but there is no religious component to our education beyond that. Like you, we were concerned about the experience our kids would have growing up in public schools where they couldn't be open about who they are or who their parents are. We're not trying to deny them an education or shelter them from the world," she answers, as Isabel fusses on her lap.

"In fact," Elena adds, "I think we offer some services that go well beyond a public education. The kids on our campus spend six hours a week learning Spanish with a tutor. The older kids spend twelve hours a week learning Chinese and Arabic, with an additional two mandatory Saturday full day study sessions per month. We've been moving in the direction of having the language of instruction of some of their other classes be in the languages they're learning to make better use of our limited time," she says. "And two weeks every summer the younger kids go to an overnight language immersion Spanish summer camp, and the older kids go on language immersion vacations with a few of us adults. During the rest of the summer we run our own little summer day camp Monday through Friday, and we continue the Saturday study sessions. The kids get to work on their language skills, play sports, go on educational trips in the region, everything. Counting the day camp instruction which focuses on Arabic and the summer trip which is to China, the older kids get about 650 hours of Arabic a year, and 400 hours of Chinese."

"How do you arrange it all?" Emily asks. "You guys don't have buses or anything, do you?"

Elena shakes her head. "Parents are responsible for dropping off and picking up their kids. It wouldn't be possible for us to offer bus service at a reasonable price," she answers. "Talking about price, it's $3,250 a year for the younger kids, $4,000 a year for the older. We pool the tuition to cover our expenses for the year. Food, books, school supplies, utilities, and tutors mostly. The summer trip works out to about $3,000 per child for the younger ones, and $2,000 per child for the older kids. Considering that private schools in this area cost $20,000 a year and up without added activity fees, we think we offer a pretty good deal since we have volunteer staff only aside from our tutors and don't have to pay for a dedicated facility yet, and we don't charge daycare fees for drop-offs up to an hour early or pickups up to three hours after classes end to accommodate our families that aren't always able to get someone to pick up the kids before the end of the work day. We assign homework based on age, ranging from half an hour a night for the younger kids, to two and a half hours a night for the older kids. We really tried to make it reasonable for big families."

"So you guys pretty much home school, just in multiple homes and with way more teachers and students?" JJ asks, laughing.

"Yep!" Elena answers as she runs up to stop Ezra from prying a toy out of Noah's hands.

"We'd love to have you," Andrea also says. "If you ever want to come visit classes for a day you're more than welcome to."

JJ and Emily share a look. "We need to discuss this with Will. You've all given us a lot to think about."

Andrea laughs. "I seem to be doing that lately."

That night, they look over the packet and discuss it with Will.

"You know I support the language learning angle," Emily says. "I would love it for Henry to grow up being able to speak multiple languages with his peers."

JJ nods. "That's an advantage. I'm still not sure about the idea of sending him to a school where almost all of the other kids have parents that are way more religious than us," she says. "What do you think, Will?"

Will shrugs. "I've known about their little home school program before now, it just slipped my mind as even an option for Henry. I trust Alex, if he says they're not going to be pushing anything religious that Henry doesn't want to hear, I'll believe him. I think it would be a good idea for one of you to spend the day over there. Maybe Emily can visit once she's had the baby."

Finally, they consult the most important person in their decision, Henry. Immediately upon realizing that it means he would get to go to school with Logan, he's the biggest supporter of their idea.

They each vow to give it some serious thought in the coming months before they'll need to register Henry for school. Emily thinks about Henry being surrounded by people who know and care about him, who accept his family, and thinks she's already pretty sure of her vote.


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N I haven't forgotten about this story! Real life has been keeping me busy but I'm still thinking about it and trying to figure out where they'll all go.**

In the end, it's about what's best for Henry and for their family as a whole. Picking the private school means never having to worry about if his peers find out about his family, or being worried that he will feel different and singled out from his classmates. A day visit on Emily's part helps her confirm the decision, seeing that the students are obviously being properly cared for and instructed to the same standard of any other school.

It isn't easy for Emily to be participating in these decisions. Wrapping her head around the fact that the only reason they're considering this is because she's in the family, and that she suddenly has a vote in how a whole human being is raised, is something she's still working on.

The evening after her school visit and their discussion about definitely enroling Henry, it's Emily's night with Will. She stands in the doorway as he kisses JJ goodbye, watching as she walks off to check on Henry before turning out the door. Will follows her, trailing behind her on the stairs and insisting she hold on the railing and go slowly.

She's just a little too wobbly to be entirely convincing when she complains that she's entirely capable of getting up and down stairs.

Later, they lay in bed paying half their attention to the news on the TV. Will's arm is around Emily's shoulder. "Are we doing the right thing?" she asks, again, as though she doesn't know the answer. "Is my being here going to hurt Henry?"

Will sighs, rubbing her shoulder. "You being here has consequences. There are so many good ones already," he answers. "You're already a blessing in Henry's life. He loves you and you love him. But you know that there has been and will be problems. We'll get through them, Em."

"My mind knows that," Emily replies. "But my heart just aches thinking of how we might end up hurting him."

"You're our family, Emily. You're his mother. Your heart should also know that you were meant to be here, with me," Will answers. "Having our baby in just a few weeks."

Emily groans, both at the change of topic and at the thought of staying pregnant for a few more weeks. Sometimes, she wishes that she could keep Andrew inside her just a little longer; safe and warm and loved. Other times, the combined discomfort of pregnancy with her urgent need to finally meet him and hold him in her arms makes her want to beg to have him already. "Don't remind me."

Will laughs. "You're doing fine. We'll get through this, Emily. We're not going to leave you because it gets hard."

Something catches in Emily's throat then, wets her eyes. Emotions mixed with a healthy dose of pregnancy hormones rage through her as the tears start to flow. Will looks at her with concern, not sure if he's said something wrong. "I really needed that," Emily says to the question he didn't ask. "I really needed to hear you say that."

It's big and it's different and it's scary, but it's their life and they'll get through.


	32. Chapter 32

Emily's due date crawls by, no sign of Andrew's arrival save for increasing but irregular contractions. Dr. Novak assures her that it's normal to go a little over her due date especially as a first time mother, that Andrew is fine in there, and they don't have to start thinking about induction unless something's troubling them or she goes two weeks over.

Thankfully, they are spared that decision. On the 15th of March, at 40 weeks and 4 days, Emily finds that she's most definitely in labor. By early that evening, both the pain of the contractions and their frequency increases. After Emily's water breaks, they decide to call Penelope to stay with Henry so they can go to the hospital.

Emily spends the last few minutes waiting for Penelope with Henry, trying to calm his fears.

"Why can't I come?" Henry asks, as though he hasn't asked her the same question at least ten times in the past month.

"We've talked about this. Only your mom and dad can stay in the room with me until I have the baby. You'll have more fun hanging out with Aunt Penelope here than in some boring hospital waiting room. Then, once Andrew is born, you can come and visit." Emily answers.

"When will he be born?" Henry questions.

"I don't know, Henry," Emily answers. "It could be in a few hours from now. It might be a day. But we'll be calling Aunt Penelope to let her know what's happening, and she can tell you."

"And then I can see my brother?" Henry asks.

"And then you can see your brother," Emily answers, Henry's words tugging at her heart.

Emily is spared from another crying fit with Penelope's timely arrival. After making sure that Will has the hospital bag packed and JJ's ready, they head out. Will carefully ushers her to the car as JJ grabs the bag from him and gets settled in the back.

It's the longest fifteen minute drive of Emily's life. Emily calls both their mothers to let them know, Penelope having already excitedly informed all of the team. Will holds her hand every time they stop at a light, all anxious and excited and very ready to have a baby.

They make it into the main entrance just before it closes, and are directed up to the L&D waiting room. A minute after ringing the bell, a worker comes through the locked doors for the floor and lets them through

"We're pre-registered," Emily explains as they all hand their IDs in at the front desk. "My birth plan and registration should already be on file."

After a minute of typing up their IDs and printing out wristbands for all of them, they're ushered into a triage room. JJ stands outside as Will helps Emily change into her gown and Emily is seen by a nurse and officially admitted.

They update Penelope as soon as Emily gets settled into her room and blood drawn, an IV inserted but not yet connected to anything, and checked by Dr. Payam, one of the residents. Emily advises her that it will at least be hours yet and that both she and Henry should get to sleep.

"Either of you can leave," Emily reminds them. "We've just got here, and it could be hours."

They both give her a look which clearly conveys the fact that they think the pregnancy is making her insane. "We're here for you," JJ answers. "And we're not going to risk missing the birth of our son."

They all try to get what sleep they can over the next few hours, between occasional interruptions by their labor nurse Beth and the resident assigned to them until Dr. Novak hopefully arrives before the birth.

By 3 am the contractions are pretty intense, and after her hourly check where Dr. Payam tells her she's progressing nicely, Emily asks to take a shower.

Beth comes in to cover the IV in a protective bag so it doesn't get wet, and helps Emily get situated on the shower bench as Will and JJ nap. The heat is a substantial relief, and Emily spends at least half an hour with the shower firmly aimed at her lower back as the contractions come and go before quickly rinsing off the rest of herself with the hand-held wand and calling out for Will.

Will comes in, groggy eyed and looking a bit alarmed, as she explains she'd been allowed to take a shower. Will grabs a hanging towel and helps her dry off as she sits, and then helping her back up into her gown. Another big contraction hits her as they walk back to bed, and Will holds her and rubs her back until it passes and she can walk the rest of the distance.

JJ, no longer asleep, watches this. She thinks about the journey they've all been on. She thinks about the horrors of her job, about the God she's drifted farther and farther away from through the process of seeing so much suffering and pain in the world. She thinks of the fact that Emily is perfect for them, meant to be with them, and how much she wishes they could have known it years and years ago and didn't waste all of this time. JJ says a little silent prayer. She says thanks for all of the good that has come into her life this past year. She asks for Emily to have a safe and good birth, for Andrew to be healthy, for all three of them to be able to keep being the parents they want to be. She asks for wisdom.

Emily alternates between faintly watching the silent TV on the wall and trying to sleep in between contractions for the next few hours. She tells herself that this will all be over soon, that Andrew will be here, that all the pain will be worth it.

As previously arranged, a worker from the cord blood bank arrives in the morning to quickly confirm that Emily is still planning to donate and to obtain a consent to donate. At 7, Dr. Novak finally arrives and quickly examines her. "Well, you're just about ready to have a baby, Emily. Whenever you start feeling like you really need to push, hit your call button and we'll be here."

Fifteen minutes later, Emily pushes the button, and in another ten everything's set up. JJ starts video taping the whole event and calls Penelope to update her.

It's the hardest thing Emily's ever done. Will holds her hand, calmly comforts her, encourages her that she's almost there and Andrew's almost here. It's exhausting, intense, and painful.

An hour later, it's over. Emily gives one great big push as Andrew is born. The cord is cared for by the doctor and the collection kit is rapidly sent off.

They quickly weigh and examine Andrew before Beth lays him back on Emily's chest where Emily immediately encourages him to start nursing. Emily's crying, Will and JJ are crying, and JJ is taking so many pictures the camera might break.

Andrew is a tiny little 6 pounds, 3 ounces. He has a fuzzy little cap of hair, ten fingers and ten toes, and the most reassuring cry any of them have ever heard since Henry was born. He's perfect.

After finally delivering the placenta, the room clears out, giving them time to properly bond. Will and JJ both spend time with him as Emily gets some rest.

JJ sends one of the photos of Andrew on Emily's chest off to her mother, Elizabeth, and Penelope.

It's nothing like they ever expected.


	33. Chapter 33

**Another late update, sorry. **

Going home is another big adjustment.

It's hard for Emily, adapting to being Andrew's mother, to Will suddenly being around all the time. Both of their sleep schedules change as they adapt to Andrew's two hour nap and waking schedules, to his crying, to someone needing to be alert enough during the day to also care for Henry. During the nights JJ is home, she and Will sleep in his room and Emily keeps Andrew in her room in the bassinet. When JJ is gone, Will usually sleeps with her.

It's difficult for her to face the reality that in a few short weeks Will has to return to work and will no longer be there with her all day, helping with the all-consuming work of being a parent. She tells herself that this is the time to adapt, to recover from the birth and to learn how to take on the bulk of the parenting when Will and JJ will be at work. She swings Andrew in his swinging chair while she checks emails from work, and when she cooks dinner. As she starts to get out of the house more, she carries him on her chest, warm and soft and right where he belongs, as she tries to discover what normal now means.

In a way, it's harder for JJ. Two days after Andrew is born, they're sent to Seattle to hunt down a serial rapist. Hotch tells her that he can make up some excuse, that she can have her time off, but part of her knows that she's chosen to sacrifice part of her personal life to better the lives of others. JJ knows that Andrew and Henry are safe and sound and loved by their mother at home, and that others need her more.

And it still feels a little selfish, but that first night away from home, Will and Emily and Andrew skype with her late at night after Henry's gone to bed, and Emily gives her this knowing little look as she coos at Andrew's sleeping form on the screen. "Andrew is going to grow up knowing the love of both his mothers, JJ. You're allowed to choose your job too. You're allowed to protect someone else's child," she says. "We'll always wait for you."

She's back home two weeks later, swearing that Andrew looks so much bigger (even though he's barely regained his birth weight,) holding him as though he might slip through her fingers for the first few hours. Emily finds her, later that night, having obviously been crying. JJ tries to assure Emily that it's nothing, and Emily isn't buying any of it.

Emily looks at her with this long, patient look. "You're allowed to stop, JJ. You're allowed to decide that enough is enough. We don't need your job to get by. You don't need your job. We will always support what you choose, and we will get through this," she says. "If you want to go back to work tomorrow morning, if you want to save lives, then you don't have to feel guilty about any of us. If you decide you've had enough at any point, if the job has worn you too thin, you can say no. You can stop if you're done."

JJ shakes her head. "I don't want to stop," she says. "I just don't want . . ." she continues, her voice trailing off when she finds herself unable to say the next few words.

"You just don't want the job to mean so many sacrifices," Emily answers for her. "But it does, JJ. It's your decision, but it does."

The next day, JJ flies off to Miami.


End file.
